Traffic crawls on Green River Road in Corona as morning commuters inch their way towards the 91 Freeway in this Dec. 6, 2017, photo. The Riverside County Transportation Commission approved a package of fixes on Wednesday, May 9, aimed at easing congestion on Green River and the freeway. (File photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Morning commuters who approach Corona from the south or brave long lines that snake along Green River Road at a snail’s pace could see a measure of relief with a transportation panel’s adoption of a package of traffic-relief measures on Wednesday, May 9.

Approved in a near-unanimous vote by the Riverside County Transportation Commission, those measures entail lengthening by one mile the northbound 15 Freeway toll lanes — which begin at Ontario Avenue now — and creating a continuous lane for entering and exiting 91 Freeway toll lanes at the Riverside-Orange county line.

Commissioners also set the stage for adding a general-purpose westbound lane on the 91, stretching from Green River Road to the 241 Freeway in Orange County. They ordered environmental studies and design work for that.

The panel intends to reconvene in the fall to decide whether to move forward with construction of the new lane, expected to cost $30 million to $50 million and take two and a half years to build.

Michele Wentworth, of the Greater Corona Traffic Alliance, addresses the Riverside County Transportation Commission on Wednesday, May 9, 2018. (Photo by David Downey, Staff)

Frustrated commuters have been bringing their message to transportation commissioners at subcommittee meetings for months. And five Corona residents spoke at Wednesday’s meeting of the full commission.

Resident Fauzia Rizvi said she appreciated the panel’s attempt to fix the problem.

“We need a solution,” she said.

Other speakers echoed her gratitude while venting frustration that an expensive makeover of the primary artery connecting Riverside County commuters with coastal jobs did little to improve driving conditions on the 91.

“It’s a disaster,” said Don Fuller of Corona. “And I don’t know how you spend $1.4 billion, build about 20-some-odd bridges, add traffic lanes, tear up the town for several years, and make it worse.”

A staff report prepared for the meeting confirmed what many have been saying.

“Westbound morning travel speeds from Monday to Thursday have notably worsened in the 4-6 a.m. period,” the report stated, citing a comparison between 2010 and 2017 after the new lanes opened. The report said there have been “marginal improvements” between 6 and 8 a.m.

Michele Wentworth, who moderates a Facebook page for the Greater Corona Traffic Alliance that claims 3,800 members, framed the impact in human terms.

“What that means is my husband is on the freeway longer,” Wentworth said. “He has less time with me and my children.”

And it’s not the just freeway. Driving the side streets is horrible, too.

Don Fuller of Corona told transportation commissioners the 91 is “a disaster” despite the new express lanes and general-purpose lanes built as part of a $1.4 billion project completed in spring 2017. (Photo by David Downey, Staff)

“As soon as it (the project) got done, immediately conditions got worse in Corona,” said Joe Morgan, who also addressed the panel. “Traffic exploded on the city streets.”

Morgan said he believes he knows why.

He said early plans called for one additional lane on both sides of the 91 between highways 71 and 241 to ease the crush near the county line.

“So it turns out what the deal was, is, really, you guys were playing a game of Jenga,” Morgan said. “You had all the blocks stacked up and you started yanking elements out of this to the point where the whole thing collapsed and it doesn’t work.”

John Standiford, deputy executive director, said the commission removed the 71-to-241 piece because the recession curbed what the agency could spend.

“We were very open about that,” Standiford said.

Now the commission hopes to build a westbound lane only, between Green River Road and the 241, to ease the morning commute and backup on Green River.

Dave is a general assignment reporter based in Riverside, writing about a wide variety of topics ranging from drones and El Nino to trains and wildfires. He has worked for five newspapers in four states: Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona and California. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Colorado State University in 1981. Loves hiking, tennis, baseball, the beach, the Lakers and golden retrievers. He is from the Denver area.